Ex-assistant Tim Grgurich returns to the Nuggets for consulting purposes

Back on the Pepsi Center practice court on Thursday morning was a familiar face – that of former Nuggets assistant coach Tim Grgurich. And if he hadn’t been gone for so long, it really was as if he never left. He bounced around from player-to-player, chatting, rebounding for free throws, talking to coaches and sometimes just standing off to the side and observing.

Nuggets coach George Karl has long tried to get Grgurich back into the organization after he left in 2010. And while this is very temporary – a few games – Karl couldn’t be happier to have the calming influence and basketball smarts of one of his best friends in the business.

“He gives me eyes, the pulse of the team,” Karl said. “Someone to give me another opinion on where he thinks we need to go and what steps (to take). There’s still two or three small steps of progression this team needs to make and your time in practices gets shorter. So having him prioritize here in the next week or two is important.”

Grgurich was a Nuggets assistant from 2005-10 in addition to stops at Seattle and Portland. He’s been doing consulting for teams ever since, including for the Mavericks when they won the title in 2011. Now he’s back in Denver.

“I’ve got him up here for a few days,” Karl said. “He’ll hang out with us for the next three games and, I don’t know where it goes from here but he’s a great coach, he’s a great friend. I think he has a love for the city of Denver and also the Nuggets. I know he loves the gym, so it’s an opportunity to get him in the gym.”

Follow Chris Dempsey on Twitter @dempseypost or email him at cdempsey@denverpost.com

Chris Dempsey arrived at The Denver Post in Dec. 2003 after seven years at the Boulder Daily Camera, where he primarily covered the University of Colorado football and men's basketball teams. A University of Colorado-Boulder alumnus, Dempsey covers the Nuggets and also chips in on college sports.